Run, Karla, Run!

As the East coast braces for Hurricane Sandy, marathon preparations are under way in New York City. The city is expecting storm surge and possible flooding; some areas near the course could be affected. But the storm should be gone by marathon morning on Sunday, Nov. 4, when the streets will be flooded with people.

This week’s episode of NYRR On the Run takes a look back at the 2011 ING New York City Marathon to help getting runners pumped for this year’s event.

But we also explore the state of U.S. distance running. Meb Keflezighi, Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher, Matt Centrowitz, Leo Manzano, Galen Rupp, Jenny Simpson and more pro runners weigh in, along with Sharon Eckstrom of marathonguide.com.

Visit ontherun.nyrr.org to watch all past episodes and individual segments.

Episode 3 of NYRR On The Run catches up with Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher in Oregon. Now a dynamic training duo, the pair discuss how they went from fierce rivals to great friends. Then it’s on to New York City’s Chinatown to meet a seventh grader who has used running to help her acclimate to a new country and new language. Finally, NBC Olympics’ Joe Battaglia stops by the studio to debate pacers vs. racers and the relative merits of paced races versus championship style events.

Visit ontherun.nyrr.org to watch past episodes and individual segments.

Runners, are you ready? It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for—a television quality broadcast about our favorite sport. We wait all year long for major marathons like Boston and New York to give us just a few hours of running coverage. Now the wait is over.

New York Road Runners launched Wednesday the debut of “On The Run,” a weekly lifestyle web show dedicated to exploring the life of the runner. It’s hosted by yours truly.

Every week between now and the ING New York City Marathon on November 4, “On The Run” will give viewers insider access to professional athletes like Meb Keflezighi, Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher, plus news about community running programs around the country and perspectives on the state of the sport from some of the biggest names in the running media. Every webisode will also feature inspirational local heroes, coaching and training tips, or other stories sure to inspire your own running. Read the rest of this entry →

The Fifth Avenue Mile is my favorite race of the year. More than 5,000 runners barrel down Fifth Avenue along Central Park in 18 different heats from kids to pros and everyone in between.

This was the first time in four years that I haven’t run the race. My 6:46 personal best from 2011 will have to stand for now. But I was doing something just as exciting as shattering a PR—covering the Fifth Avenue Mile for New York Road Runners as host of their new web show “On The Run.” Read the rest of this entry →

The women’s marathon Olympic medals are up for grabs on Sunday morning. (Photo: London 2012)

The 2012 London Olympic Women’s Marathon just might be the greatest race women’s marathon in the history of the sport. Team USA has put together arguably its deepest women’s marathon team in the history of the event: Shalane Flanagan, Desiree Davila and Kara Goucher, all of whom are top-of-the-world runners that have stood on the podium at World Marathon Majors events, a two-year racing series that includes the Olympic Games.

The good news is any one of these women could medal, likely in the bronze position with a long-shot chance at gold. The bad news is it won’t be easy. The 2012 Olympic women’s marathon has the fastest field of runners in the history of the event. Seven women in the race have broken the sub-2:20 mark, and none of them are American. Read the rest of this entry →

Mo Farah at the 2010 European Championships. Photo by Erik van Leeuwen.

Debutantes and coach Alberto Salazar ruled the road at the NYC Half-Marathon this morning. Three of Salazar’s athletes topped the podium: Mo Farah of Great Britain won the men’s race in his half-marathon debut, Galen Rupp of the U.S. finished third in his debut as well, and Kara Goucher of the U.S. took third in the women’s competition. Salazar coaches all three athletes in Portland, Oregon.

NYC Half Men’s Race

Mo Farah of Great Britain, Salazar’s newest protégé, ran away with the title in his half-marathon debut. Farah has European Championship titles in the 3000, 5000 and 10,000 meters.

“It was nice to see that I’ve got speed and endurance,” Farah said about his win at the longer distance. “I’m in the best shape of my life right now.” Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by qivn/Flickr.

Ryan Hall is running. Meb Keflezighi is running. Abdi Abdirahman is running. Galen Rupp is running. Kara Goucher is running. The 2011 NYC Half marathon is about to get underway with the deepest American field ever.

But they’ll have to fend of Kenya’s Peter Kamais, the defending champion, and Ethiopia’s Gebre Gebremariam, the reigning ING New York City Marathon champion.

In the women’s field, Kara Goucher is in her final weeks of preparation for the Boston Marathon–her first after giving birth to a son last September. Goucher is one of just three women who have defeated Paula Radcliffe in a half-marathon.

Challenging Goucher will be Edna Kiplagat, the reigning ING New York City Marathon champion, and Madai Peres, the Mexican record holder who defeated Goucher at the Phoenix Half Marathon in January.

Stay tuned and refresh this page often for more… Read the rest of this entry →

The Fresh Air Fund is just one charity with entries for the NYC Half-Marathon. Photo courtesy of The Fresh Air Fund.

Kara Goucher is running the NYC Half-Marathon. Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall, and Abdi Abdirahman are running too. If you want to join this stellar field of American pros on March 20, you still can. Many of the race’s charity partners still have entries available for runners.

Here’s how it works: Runners pledge to raise a predetermined amount of money—usually $1,000 to $1,500—for the charity by running the race on the charity’s behalf. In return, the runners get a guaranteed entry into the 2011 NYC Half-Marathon.

Here is one good cause that is still looking for runners for this year’s race:

The Fresh Air Fund Read the rest of this entry →

It seems like everyone wants to run the marathon. And not just any marathon—the ING New York City Marathon. Haile Gebrselassie, the marathon world record holder and undisputed King of the Road, has already announced that he’s running NYC for the first time this fall. Defending NYC champion and American superstar Meb Keflezighi is also returning to defend his title. And now, Shalane Flanagan, America’s track darling, has announced she’ll be making her marathon debut in New York on November 7.

“It’s the ultimate challenge for the distance runner,’’ Flanagan told The Boston Globe. “I would love to win another Olympic medal, but more than anything, I would love to win a major marathon.’’ Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by Mike Baird

On Saturday in New York City, Great Britain’s Paula Radcliffe and the U.S.’s Kara Goucher will both run the NYRR New York Mini 10K, the world’s oldest women’s race. Radcliffe is the marathon world record holder and Goucher is an Olympian and up-and-coming marathoner who has placed third in the NYC and Boston marathons.

They’re running the Mini—but not racing it. Both five months pregnant and due on the same day in September, the superstars and friends have decided to treat the historic event as a fun run.

“It’s an excuse for us to get together; a chance to hang together before we get too pregnant to travel,” Goucher told The New York Times. “We are really just running it for fun. Not racing.”

Running a race for fun without “racing” it, is one of the many joys of running. It allows you to soak up all the energy of the community while getting in good run, and it’s way better than slogging out a tempo or other training run by yourself. It’s a great way to run with friends, and it’s also an excellent exercise in restraint. Forcing yourself to hold back—which can be hard amongst the excitement—is good training for your next big race. Read the rest of this entry →

Meb Keflezighi chases down Kenya’s Robert Cheruiyot at the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 1. Photo by Randy Lemoine.

It only took 27 years. For the first time since Alberto Salazar ran away with the title in 1982, an American won the ING New York City Marathon. On Sunday, Nov. 1, Meb Keflezighi cruised to victory in 2:09:15 wearing a “U.S.A.” singlet. Does his win signal the return of the great American marathoner?

Back in the 1970s and early 1980s, marathon legends Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Salazar enjoyed an era when Americans actually won races, and inspired a generation of runners to hit the pavement in the process—running boom, anyone? Indeed, Rodgers has the most major marathon wins—8 of them—of any runner in history according to the World Marathon Majors, a two-year race series with a $1 million prize. (New York, Boston, Chicago, London and Berlin comprise the Majors, along with the Olympics and World Championships as qualifying races.) But African runners have largely dominated the sport since. Sure, an American star like Deena Kastor—who won Chicago in 2005 and London in 2006—has challenged the status quo every now and then. But on the world’s streets at large, the U.S. hasn’t been a factor. Certainly not like Kenya or Ethiopia. But this year on the mean streets of New York, a total of six American men finished in the top 10—the most since 1979—with Keflezighi taking the crown. All signs point to a potential renaissance. Read the rest of this entry →